Tight supply, strong demand to support 2022 Mo market
Lower concentrate feedstock availability and a rise in demand from steelmakers is expected to support the molybdenum market in 2022, according to Li Shan, general manager of SinoMoly, a subsidiary of Jinduicheng Molybdenum.
Output from global key mining companies is expected to fall in 2022 because of lower metal grade in copper and molybdenum ore, harsh weather and a lack of workforce, Li told delegates at the 13th Luoyang Tungsten and Molybdenum Conference.
Global supplies will not increase owing to delays to new production projects. China will continue to carry out energy consumption curbs and environmental restrictions next year, which will offset steady output plans at domestic mines to leave a slight supply shortage.
Global demand for crude steel is forecast to reach around 1,896mn t in 2022, up by 2.2pc from 2021, including a rise of 5.5-7.1pc in Europe, Li said.
Renewed demand from other emerging downstream sectors, such as hydrogen energy, will indirectly support the molybdenum market in the coming year. The main steel product that involves molybdenum is 316L, which is used in the processes of hydrogen production, storage and usage.
Prices for molybdenum have held firm following a recovery in demand from steel sectors after the Covid-19 pandemic eased. Market participants expect global annual consumption in major economies in 2021 will be stronger than 2020. Purchases of ferro-molybdenum alloy from Chinese steelmakers in the first 10 months of this year rose by around 8pc to 9,500 t/month from a year ago.
Chinese prices started falling in September following consecutive gains during January-August, with steelmakers reluctant to purchase at higher prices in view of thin profit margins, especially when energy consumption curbs pressured the production and market activity of stainless steel. Molybdenum suppliers then cut their prices to attract sales.
The country exported 13,299t of ferro-molybdenum in January-October, up by 284pc from 3,462t over the same period of last year, official customs data show. Exports reached 1,851t in October, up by 343pc from 418t a year earlier and up by 3.70pc from 1,785t a month ago. Alloy suppliers also increased their shipments to overseas buyers in November.
Argus today assessed domestic prices for 60pc grade ferro-molybdenum at 138,000-142,000 yuan/t ex-works, or Yn230-237/kg ($36.10-37.19/kg) for contained molybdenum, up from the 30 November assessment of Yn135,000-138,000/t. Export prices remained stable from 30 November at $37-38/kg fob today.
Steelmakers have increased their replenishment efforts as the country's energy consumption curbs have eased and concentrate suppliers have held low inventories in recent weeks after concluding large volumes of deals at lower prices in November. Alloy prices are expected to hold firm in the short term in light of the increased purchases from steelmakers and tight concentrate feedstock availability, market participants said on the sidelines of the conference.
Related news posts
China's Lopal starts first Indonesian LFP battery plant
China's Lopal starts first Indonesian LFP battery plant
Beijing, 22 April (Argus) — Major Chinese lithium iron phosphate (LFP) producer Jiangsu Lopal Tech has launched production at the first phase of its Indonesia-based LFP production plant. The Indonesian plant is the first overseas LFP battery material production project with over 10,000 t/yr capacity that a Chinese company has invested in, Lopal said. Lopal's subsidiary Changzhou Liyuan New Energy Technology started building the first phase of the project in July last year, with a 30,000 t/yr output capacity for LFP battery material. The line started pilot production in March. The plant is located in the Kendal Industrial Park in Indonesia's Central Java province. The whole project has a designed capacity of 120,000 t/yr, with the second phase of 90,000 t/yr likely to start construction in the second half of this year. This project marks a milestone in China's investment in overseas battery feedstock resources, according to market participants. Most Indonesian projects that Chinese firms invest in are for primary materials or intermediates such as lithium salts, graphite, nickel matte, mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) and ferro-nickel including nickel pig iron. Lopal has been accelerating its investment in lithium-ion battery material production in the past few years. It is also building a 50,000 t/yr production line for LFP and a 100,000 t/yr plant for iron phosphate in the Shandong Heze Juancheng industrial park, in which another 80,000 t/yr iron phosphate project is located. Changzhou Liyuan on 18 April released its newly-developed 4th generation high compaction LFP cathode material S501, with 2.65g/cm³ of compaction. This has increased the battery's energy density and power load, said the company. LFP has taken up a bigger market share in the power battery market because of its lower manufacturing costs and safer performance. But one of its main disadvantages is shorter driving ranges on electric vehicles because of lower energy density. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
International Graphite gets Western Australia funding
International Graphite gets Western Australia funding
Singapore, 22 April (Argus) — Australia's International Graphite will receive fresh funding of A$6.5mn ($4.2mn) for its graphite project and plans in Western Australia's (WA) Collie from the state government. The Labor party-led government of premier Roger Cook will provide A$4.5mn to support the acceleration of International Graphite's pilot graphite micronising plant in Collie to "full scale", with A$2mn for its battery anode material facility feasibility study, the WA government said on 20 April. International Graphite in February wet commissioned its 200 t/yr graphite micronising plant, having obtained government approval for equipment installation late last year. The facility is a precursor to its planned 4,000 t/yr commercial micronising facility in Collie, which is expected to cost A$12.5mn and could begin construction by mid-2024, the firm said. It plans to build the operations over 18-24 months, the WA government said. The company last year signed an exclusive agreement for a lease related to its Collie graphite battery anode material facility. It is aiming to be the first fully integrated battery anode graphite processing firm in WA. International Graphite owns the Springdale graphite deposit near Hopetoun in WA, the second-largest known graphite deposit in the country. The deposit has a mineral resource estimate of 49.3mn t of 6.5pc total graphitic carbon, according to the firm on 12 September. The Australian federal government last year gave A$4.7mn to International Graphite through its Critical Minerals Development Programme grants. It received the first and second tranche of A$1.7mn and A$1.25mn last year. By Joseph Ho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Australia's QPM to focus on gas, cut Tech battery spend
Australia's QPM to focus on gas, cut Tech battery spend
Sydney, 22 April (Argus) — Australian battery metals refiner Queensland Pacific Metals (QPM) will focus on energy markets via its Moranbah gas project (MGP) and limit further expenditure on its Townsville Energy Chemicals Hub (Tech) project. The firm will switch its prioritisation to its wholly-owned QPM Energy (QPME) business, with QPME's chief executive David Wrench to be appointed as QPM chief executive, the company said on 22 April. MGP's coal mine waste gas output from nearby the coal mining hub of Moranbah in Queensland's Bowen basin will be increased to 35 TJ/d (935,000 m³/d) by late 2024, up from October-December 2023's 28 TJ/d, with QPME to accelerate production and reserves to provide required peaking power for the national electricity market (NEM) via Thai-controlled energy firm Ratch Australia's 242MW Townsville Power Station. QPME aims to drill a further seven wells by the year's end, increase workovers and increase production from third-party supply of waste mine gas from regional coal mines. The company is also seeking to develop a portfolio of plants to supply up to 300MW of gas-fired power to the NEM, while compressed natural gas and micro-LNG facilities will also be developed in Townsville and Moranbah, QPME said. A surge in government support for renewable power generation in order to meet Australia's 2030 emissions target by retiring coal-fired power means more gas-peaking plants will likely be needed in the coming years to support variable generators. But Australia's domestic gas supply is forecast to experience shortfalls this decade, with predictions of a 76 PJ/yr gap in 2028. The Tech project which aims to produce 16,000 t/yr of nickel and 1,750 t/yr of cobalt sulphates from imported laterite ore saw its funding significantly reduced in February because of what QPM described as a "challenging investment environment" resulting from depressed nickel prices. By Tom Major Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
India mulls using more natural gas in steel sector
India mulls using more natural gas in steel sector
Mumbai, 19 April (Argus) — India's steel ministry is considering increasing natural gas consumption in the sector as it aims to lower carbon emissions from the industry. Steelmakers held a meeting with the steel ministry earlier this month, to discuss challenges and avenues to increase gas allocation to the sector, according to a government document seen by Argus . Steel producers requested that the government set gas prices at an affordable range of $7-8/mn Btu for them, to make their gas-based plants viable, as well as for a custom duty waiver on LNG procured for captive power. India's LNG imports attract a custom duty of 2.5pc. City gas distribution firms sell gas at market-determined prices to steel companies. Representatives from the steel industry also requested for the inclusion of gas under the purview of the country's goods and service tax, and to be given higher priority in the allocation of deepwater gas, which has a higher calorific value. Deepwater gas is currently deployed mostly to city gas distribution networks. Steelmakers are currently undertaking feasibility tests for gas pipeline connectivity at various steel plants. But a gas supply transmission agreement requires a minimum five-year period for investment approval. The steel industry is heavily reliant on coal, and the sector accounts for about 8-10pc of carbon emissions in the country. A task force of gas suppliers including IOC, Gail, BPCL, Shell, and HPCL and steel producers like Tata Steel, AMNS, All India Steel Re-roller Association and the Pellet Manufacturers Association has been set up, and the team is expected to submit a report on increasing natural gas usage and lowering carbon emissions by 15 May, the government document said. This team is one of the 13 task forces approved by the steel ministry to define the country's green steel roadmap. The steel ministry aims to increase green steel exports from the country in the light of the policies under the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which will take effect on 1 January 2026. Under the CBAM, importers will need to declare the quantity of goods imported into the EU in the preceding year and their corresponding greenhouse gas emissions. The importers will then have to surrender the corresponding number of CBAM certificates. CBAM certificate prices will be calculated based on the weekly average auction price of EU Emissions Trading System allowances, expressed in €/t of CO2 emitted. This is of higher importance to Indian steelmakers as the EU was the top finished steel export destination for Indian steelmakers during the April 2022-March 2023 fiscal year with total exports of 2.34mn t, and has been the preferred choice for Indian steel exports in the current fiscal year owing to higher prices compared to other regions. Indian steelmakers have started to take steps to lower their carbon emissions by announcing collaborations with technology companies to decarbonise, and are trial injecting hydrogen in blast furnaces, and increasing the usage of natural gas in ironmaking. By Rituparna Ghosh Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Business intelligence reports
Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.
Learn more